Another Life Taken
by fala1385
Summary: Naraku was killed, but wait! He is brought back to life. Now the Inuyasha gang, including Inuyasha and Kagome's children, must find and kill him once again, but during the battle someone gets killed! Can you guess who it is before the end of the story? Ra
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Hello! This is my first story so don't laugh. *glares* Anyway, I hope you like it, and please review once you are done!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha. If I did, Inuyasha and Kagome would be happily married and all the people that ruin their relationship would die a cold, painful death *evil laugh*

~~~~ Scene change, no time has passed.

*** Time changes

~*~*~*~ Time and scene change.

"Talking"

Thinking 

*Action while talking*

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            _Why? _A raven-haired girl thought, sobbing over a grave that looked more like a mound of dirt with a stone on top of it. _Why did this happen? Even though he's dead, that doesn't make up for this…_

            "Kagome?" a dark-haired woman put a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder. "You gonna be alright?"

            Kagome looked up at her friend and nodded "I just need a little time alone to… to…" she felt tears roll down her cheeks and didn't bother wiping them away. Her friend didn't need to hear the rest; she left without saying a word.

            Kagome continued to sob for a while before eventually looking up into the warm, blue sky. She wondered how the sky could look so perfect on the least perfect day of her life.

            Naraku… Hate and pain were evident on her features as her thoughts returned to only hours before, when death of this person was the last thing on her mind…

~*~*~*~*~*~

            "C'mon Kagome! The others are waiting for us!" Inuyasha shouted from the bottom of the stairs in the Higurashi shrine.

            "Just a minute! Ara locked herself in her room again," Kagome called from the hallway on the second floor.  She continued to knock on her daughter's door catching a glimpse of the wedding ring on her finger.  She still couldn't believe she and Inuyasha had been married for nearly fourteen years. During that time, they had defeated Naraku, but somehow, they didn't know how or why, he was recently brought back to life.  He managed to steal the nearly completed Shikon no Tama –only about four shards or so were left to find. And also during their marriage, they had two children, Ara who was nine and Mitsu, fourteen.

            "I could knock down that door if you like, Mom.  One swipe of my claws and—" Mitsu started, but was cut off.

            "No!"

            Mitsu sighed, "Fine, then I guess we'll be here a while. Grandma said she was in there destroying stuff all night," He looked at the door with his silver eyes as if he could see right through it, "I bet it's a mess in there."

            "I know, I heard her," Kagome said with a disappointed sigh.  Ara looked a lot like her, but she defiantly acted like her father when she was mad, sometimes worse.

            "I'm not coming out!" Ara whined from inside, "Some people saw me last night and called me a freak of nature!" she wailed. Ara was very unfortunate, she wasn't a human, hanyou, or youkai –she was in a class of her own.  During the day, she was human with shoulder-length black hair and amber eyes, but at night she was a hanyou with silver hair, dog-ears, and crystal-blue eyes.

            Souta, who was kneeling on the ground silently picking the lock on Ara's door, smiled and said "I got it!" and the boy swung the door open to the room that used to be Kagome's. The pink walls that Ara always hated were full of holes –not just from last night, but also whenever she was mad.  Schoolbooks were tossed on the ground and her uniform was ripped to shreds, telling them that the other people Ara met last night were most likely kids from Ara's school. Other things were randomly destroyed and tossed around; was her desk always split in half? She was kneeling in the middle of this mess giving them a death glare for entering.

            "Go away!" she yelled, but Inuyasha came through the doorway and picked the girl up and put her over his shoulders.

            "Come on, we promised Miroku, Sango, and Shippou we would be back in a week. Who knows what type of trouble they have gotten into by now," He said as he practically dragged her out of the house. She grabbed anything she could and tried to squirm out of his grasp.

            "Lemme go, Dad!" she said banging her fists against his back. She soon realized it was hopeless and allowed herself to be taken to the well.

            Once on the other side, the four were greeted by a rather upset kitsune.

            "What's wrong, Shippou?" Kagome asked the sobbing fox.

            "Mi-Miroku-ku and-and Sango got h-h-urt from-from a battle and it-it doesn't lo-look like Miroku will li-ive," he managed to say in between sobs. Almost instantly he found himself lifted into Inuyasha's grasp as he bolted towards Kaede's village, which is where he figured –no, knew –the others were. His nose told him he was right, as he could smell the blood inside Kaede's hut along with another scent –poison.

            The others caught up quickly, but Mitsu froze as the scents filled his nose. "Poison…" he said worriedly and Inuyasha only nodded in response. 

They walked into the hut and found Miroku's unconscious body lying on the floor with Sango sitting next to him wiping the sweat from his face. They were each wounded; Sango's left arm was sliced open and the side of her face was bandaged. Miroku lay poisoned with his right arm in a sling.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

Sango looked up, "We were attacked by Naraku," she spat out the last word as if it couldn't be used in a civilized conversation –which was true. "Miroku was poisoned by Naraku's insects, but it's worse than it ever was before,"

"How long ago did it happen?" Kagome asked fishing in her bottomless backpack for some type of antidote.

"A few hours ago,"

"Aha!" Kagome exclaimed holding up a medication she received from Hojo after her grandfather said she was stung by a rare species of wasps. She silently thanked them both as she brought it over to Miroku and gently lifted his head. "I hope this works," she prayed as she poured the liquid down his throat. "If it worked, he will wake up in an hour or two."

"Good," Mitsu sighed holding Ara by the hair who was trying to use the distraction to get back to the well so she could complain in her room. Of course she cared about Miroku, and that gave her more reason to leave –she hated to see anyone hurt, dying, or dead. How anyone could kill innocent people she didn't know and hoped she never learned.

After twenty minutes, Ara finally agreed to stay, but only after her brother had hit her over the head a few times and accused her of not caring that a life was in danger. She was famous among them for not allowing someone to suffer or hurt as long as she could help them. If she couldn't, she would at least stay by their side and get anything they asked for.

She stayed by Miroku, right across from Sango, the rest of the evening, until Inuyasha asked her later that night to help him hunt for dinner since Kagome forgot to pack food. Right then she was a hanyou, so she went with him –a mistake she would never make again…


	2. Don't turn your back

A/N: Well, I'm not even sure anyone is reading my story, but oh well! Here's chapter 2! I know it's not too interesting, but it will be better soon. Trust me. Please review when your done so that I know that other people are reading this! Thanks^^

Disclaimer: *looks under Christmas tree* Nope, I still don't own Inuyasha ;_; *cries*

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Chapter 2: Don't turn your back

"What are we hunting for, Dad?" Ara asked walking beside him in the forest surrounding Kaede's village. Mitsu was following them staring off into nothingness, apparently lost in thought.

"Anything," Inuyasha responded, "Kaede ran out of food, too, so we have to get her some also."

Mitsu was either ignoring them or didn't hear their conversation. He looked around at the brown grass and dead trees. He tilted his head to the sky and saw the full moon surrounded by glimmering stars, speckled on a blanket of black. 

"Whatcha lookin' at, Mitsu?" Ara asked curiously.

He looked down at his younger sister, "Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

Ara laughed at this. "We're not in school, ya know. You don't have to think when you're here!"

Inuyasha suddenly stopped, making Ara crash right into his back. "Oww… Why did you stop, Dad?"

Inuyasha sniffed the air, "Naraku…" he growled. Mitsu and Ara also smelled the air; they could smell Naraku.

"It's probably just Kagura, Naraku would come himself," Mitsu pointed out.

"Oh really?" a deep voice asked above them, "What makes you think that?"

Inuyasha looked up only to see Naraku looking down at him. "Naraku. What is it you want this time? You already have most of the jewel shards!"

"Who said this had anything to do with the shards? I would just like to se your body on the ground, dead," he laughed. Inuyasha looked back at his children.

"Go get the others!" he ordered. Just then, Naraku sent a branch-like tentacle right at Inuyasha's back. He cried out in pain and surprise as Naraku pinned him to a tree.

"Dad!" Mitsu and Ara cried out in unison.

"Kukuku… Have you not learned to keep your eyes on your opponent?" Naraku smiled a wicked smile. If a snake could smile, it would smile as he did.

"Go!" Inuyasha managed to say and watched as Mitsu and Ara made a run for it back to the village.

~~~~~~~~~

Kagome felt a chill run through her spine and she looked around.  _Something's wrong_, she thought and looked around the hut. Below her was a now conscience Miroku. To her left was Kaede, re-bandaging Sango's wounded arm.

Sango noticed the look on Kagome's face first. "What's wrong, Kagome-chan?"

"I don't know, just a feeling like something bad happened. It's probably noth--"

"Mom!" she heard Ara's cry from outside the hut. Soon enough, Mitsu and Ara were running through the door, "Naraku's here and he hurt Dad!"

Kagome's eyes went wide, "Naraku's here? What happened? Where's your father?"

"He's fighting Naraku," Mitsu answered, "C'mon, we gotta help him out!"

Kagome jumped up. She grabbed her bow, arrows, and backpack full of medical supplies --just in case. She quickly noticed Sango walking towards her boomerang against the wall and Miroku trying to sit up. "You guys stay here; you're too badly wounded."

"We can't just let you go knowing there's danger," Sango replied, "Besides, it's just a flesh wound, I've suffered worse." Miroku nodded in agreement.

"The medicine you gave me is working, Kagome-sama. I can come," Miroku said after finally getting up. He looked weak, but he was defiantly better.

Kagome nodded knowing it was no sense arguing. They began to where Mitsu and Ara said they encountered Naraku, but once they got there, he was gone. Kagome saw something out of the corner of her eye and quickly turned to see what it was.

"Inuyasha!" she sighed in relief as she ran to his side. There was a hole in his stomach and blood coming from his mouth. She quickly got out a cloth from her backpack and wiped the blood from his mouth. He blinked his eyes awake and looked at her.

"Where'd that bastard get to?" he whispered, not being able to talk any louder.

"I don't know, I just got here," she responded. Inuyasha tried to sit up, but the pain in his gut was too much and he leaned back against the tree behind him. "You shouldn't move, your wounds are real bad. You need to rest for a while," Kagome said, wiping some more blood that escaped his mouth.

"I'll get him," Inuyasha growled.

"Really?" Naraku asked from just out of their view, "Ara, Mitsu, you are even weaker than Inuyasha, if that's possible. You didn't even notice my scent."

"There's a lot of blood and people here, it's kinda hard to figure out the scents!" Mitsu argued.

"Excuses. Pitiful hanyou, just can't admit how weak he is," Naraku laughed.

"Excuse me? What about you? You're a hanyou too, you know," Ara said. She knew it would push him over the edge, but she could never let a diss go to waste, especially one that's so perfectly set up.

Naraku's anger reached a boiling point as he used one of his branch-like arms and knocked her against a tree. He laughed.

Ara's vision was fuzzy for a few moments, but once it subsided she noticed a pain in the back of her head. She held her hand to the back of her head and felt it wet and sticky. She put her hand in front of her face and saw it covered with her own blood. "Bastard…" she muttered. Kagome would have normally yelled at her for swearing, but under the circumstances, she felt she had a right to curse.

"Ara!" Inuyasha called. This time Naraku went too far; no one hurts his children and gets away with it. He stood up despite his injuries and took out his Tetsusaiga and prepared to fight.

Naraku laughed, "You wish to fight me? You truly are stupid," The two hanyous were poised to fight and prepared to attack…


	3. Writers Block

A/N: Ok, I'm sooooooo sorry about not updating. I am failing math, I have 3 essays due in 2 weeks, I STILL gotta get xmas pressies, and I'm teaching myself basic Japanese (I only know around 20 words, so I have a looong way to go). So with all that said, you can see why I haven't updated this story yet (not to mention this nasty case of writers block -.o). ok, I SWEAR I will update soon. I am also working on another fanfic. So, has anyone even read my story? No one has reviewed. Please do, it will make the writers block go away faster. I don't care what you say, go ahead and criticize! Ok, that's all for now, next chapter will come soon! 


	4. I'll never forget you

A/N: Ok everyone! I have the next chapter! So here it is, enjoy. 

---------------------------

"Kagome?" as much as the speaker tried to hide it, he was upset--probably even crying.

Kagome looked up at the speaker, getting pulled out of her memories of the night before. "Inuyasha," she whispered. He knelt down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders staring at the grave in front of him with moist eyes. He rarely cried and the few times he did, he would hide his tears. He didn't seem to care this time. Kagome buried her head in Inuyasha's shoulder and continued to sob.

"Kagome, I… Do you want to be alone?" Inuyasha managed to say after a few moments of silence. "Sango said you weren't taking… 'it' too well…"

She looked up into his golden eyes which were filled with tears that rolled down his cheek. Kagome reached a hand up to wipe them from his face, "Look who's talking," she said, managing a smile, though it was forced and didn't make Inuyasha feel any better.

"He didn't deserve it," Inuyasha said, "I hope Naraku is burning in hell for what he has done."

"Hell is too good for him," Kagome said. "I hope his spirit is forced to stay here on earth and relive that moment when he died over and over again until he can take it no longer and is forced to watch people from all around celebrate his death," she spoke with such anger that even Inuyasha was starting to get scared. She laughed at the look on his face, but again it was forced. It didn't look at all like the smile Inuyasha always enjoyed or sound like the laughter he always wanted to hear.

"How do you think he came back?" Inuyasha asked trying to change the subject.

"Well," Kagome started, "Who do we know that can bring back the dead besides Naraku himself?" she asked remembering how he brought Kohaku back to life after he had been shot full of arrows.

"Well, a better question would be who do we know that has been brought back from the dead?"

"There's Kohaku, but Naraku did that, and Kikyou, but Urasue is dead," she looked up at Inuyasha, "Who else?"

"Rin," he said coldly. Kagome was confused for a moment, but then remembered that girl that was always following Sesshomaru. Yes, Sesshomaru actually told them he gave the girl her life back after being attacked by a pack of youkai wolves.

"Do you really think Sesshomaru would do that?"

"Yes, unless it was someone we haven't met yet."

"But why?" Kagome asked, "I thought he hated Naraku."

Inuyasha shrugged, "Who knows. It might not even have been him remember"

Kagome nodded against his chest that she was still leaning on. She had soaked his kimono with her tears, but Inuyasha didn't seem to mind. Just then, Shippou walked towards them.

The kitsune, now around twenty, but still acted like a ten-year-old, said, "Miroku told me to tell you that supper is ready, if you feel like eating at all."

Kagome looked back at the grave and sighed. "I suppose so, I haven't eaten a bite since it happened."

"Or left the grave," Shippou pointed out. "You know he wouldn't like that. Besides, Ara is hysterical and I really think you should be by her side since she refuses to go anywhere near the grave; she still feels responsible."

"Why? She did nothing, it was Naraku that killed him, Not her." Kagome stated.

"Well, he was killed because he was trying to protect her from Naraku's attack," Inuyasha pointed out. "She says that if she wasn't such a coward and was just able to run, he would not be dead."

"What?! She said that?" Kagome exclaimed. She stood and began to walk towards Keade's village looking back to the grave only once as a tear rolled down her cheek.

~*~*~*~*~

"Kagome-chan, please eat something," Sango pleaded. Kagome looked down at the fish she was given. She was starving, but somehow just couldn't eat.

"Mommy, eat. It tastes good," Ara said, but she herself had only taken a tiny nibble.

No one in the room was in a good mood after the previous night's adventures… The victim of last night… Mitsu. He had jumped in front of Ara to save her from one of Naraku's attacks, but was killed as he did so.

"You should listen to your own advice, Ara-chan," Shippou joked.

"Shut up, kitsune."

"Ara! don't tell Shippou-chan to shut up," Kagome scolded. She let out a sigh of defeat as they continued to argue. That was something they both seemed to do when they were upset. Perhaps they did it to calm themselves --even if that didn't make any sense.

"I need to go for a walk," Kagome said after a long silence; well, it would have been silent if Ara and Shippou would just be quiet.  
"I'll come too," Inuyasha said and walked out the door with her. He put his arm around her waist as they walked through the forest --the forest that had been named the Inuyasha Forest after he was sealed to the sacred tree there. 

They walked aimlessly for around an hour in silence like that, Inuyasha's arm around her waist and Kagome leaning on his shoulder which seemed to be just the right height for her head to rest on.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said after a while.

She looked up, "Yes?"

"Maybe we should go to your time for a while; maybe you wont cry so much."

It was only then that Kagome realized she had been crying the entire time. "I guess so, but later; I kinda enjoy this," she said with a smile.

"Of course," he answered. Inuyasha was no longer the rude, obnoxious hanyou Kagome met over fifteen years ago in this very forest. He change so much during their adventures and it seemed that this was enough to almost change him all together. Kagome actually started to miss his hot-tempered self. The old Inuyasha would tell her not to be such a cry-baby and that Mitsu was probably better off now. She let out a sigh.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just thinking of how much you have changed."

"Changed?" Inuyasha asked with a confused look.

"Yeah, you remember how you used to be: rude, mean, short-tempered, bossy--"

"Who are you calling 'short-tempered'?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome said with her hands on her hips. They were both shouting now.

"Every time I do something small you shout 'sit'. then you act all innocent by saying 'Oh, sorry. I didn't mean it. Really!'" Inuyasha shouted imitating her voice. Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic attempt. "What's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.

"I do not sound like that."

"You know what I mean!"

Kagome couldn't help but smile. _Looks like Inuyasha is back to his old self. Good._

~~~~~~

"Shut up, baka!"

"You're the baka!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Could you both be quiet?" Sango asked politely to Ara and Shippou. They hadn't stopped arguing since Kagome and Inuyasha left.

They completely ignored her. "Stupid kitsune!" Ara yelled.

"Dumb human!" Shippou retorted. He was currently using fox magic to make himself appear as small as he was when they first started their adventure. He always said he liked himself better like that because it reminded everyone about their past --the good and the bad.

"Hey!" Sango and Miroku shouted at the same time.

"I'm not all human!" Ara said sticking her tongue out.

"Right now you are!"

"So?"

"So ha!"

"What are you two fighting over this time?" Kagome asked stepping into the hut. Inuyasha followed soon after and the dirt on his face told everyone in the room that they had an argument.

Shippou jumped onto Kagome's shoulder, "She started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"How old are you, Shippou?" Inuyasha asked, "Cuz you sure sound like a little kid."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do," Inuyasha shouted back.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Enough!" Kagome shouted throwing her hands into the air. "Why does everyone always have to argue?!"

Inuyasha, who had started to shake Shippou, quickly put him down. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Sorry," Shippou and Ara said at the same time.

"Ara, we're going to the well," Kagome said gesturing to Inuyasha, "you wanna come? You have been missing a lot of school," she said, but she knew after all that had happened the girl would refuse to leave the house.

Ara shrugged her shoulders, "Okay."

~*~*~*~*~

"Kagome! Ara! Inuyasha! How have you been?" Mrs. Higurashi said as they each entered the house.

"Hiya, sis," Souta said.

"Hi," Kagome responded then looked questioningly at Souta, "I thought you were going back to America this morning."

"My flight was canceled," he shrugged, "Lots of storms and stuff." Souta went to college at the University of California in America --against his mother's wishes who always said the schools in Japan were better-- and had only come for a visit, which he did every few months --another thing his mother didn't like too much due to the fact that she usually paid for the flights.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Mrs. Higurashi asked noticing her blood-shot and swollen eyes and red cheeks.

Ara decided to leave for her room --which used to be Kagome's-- but remembered that she trashed it, so she went to the living room instead and turned on the TV.

Kagome sighed and looked at the ground, "There was an accident, Mama."

"Accident?" her mother asked. Kagome nodded.

"It was a fight with Naraku and…" she trailed off not wanting to finish the sentence. She rubbed away the tears that started to flow down her cheeks.

"Are you ok, Kagome?" Souta asked.

Kagome managed to look up at their faces, "Mitsu was killed," she announced.

*******

"You sure you don't need anything?" Mrs. Higurashi asked through Kagome's door later that evening.

"No thanks, Mama," she answered.

Inuyasha sat at the edge of the bed changing the channels of the TV with the remote trying to find something good.

_At least he understands modern technology now,_ Kagome thought. She still remembered the day she first showed Inuyasha a TV. He seemed so confused and went right up to it and poked the screen asking things like, 'How did those people get in there?' or 'Where is the sound coming from?' It took Kagome hours to explain it to him, and soon it became his favorite thing, aside from ramen of course.

She laid down on the bed with a sigh. "I already miss him," she said.

"Me too," Inuyasha said giving up any hope at finding something to watch and laid down next to her.

"What do you suppose it's like?" Kagome asked.

"What what's like?" Inuyasha asked suddenly very confused.

"What do you think it's like to die?"

"Well, I was dead once."

Kagome laughed, "You weren't dead, you were under a spell."

He shrugged, "Same difference," he said using one of the phrases Kagome, Ara, and Mitsu would always use.

"Well, then, what was that like?"

"It's like being in this dark room or something, no lights, windows, or even a candle. You just stay there. You have no heat-beat and you don't even have to breath," Inuyasha sighed, "But you have to stay there without moving, because if you move, there is this pain that shoots through your whole body."

"Is that really what it was like for you?"

Inuyasha nodded, "But you're right, death and that spell I was under are probably different."

"I hope so," Kagome said. She yawned and fell asleep, but woke up several times in the night. _I hope you're okay, Mitsu. I miss you so much…_

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FINALLY! I got the 3rd chapter up! Yay!!! I'm not sure if I'm gonna write more, I might. Heck, I might even delete this chapter and actually write out the battle. I did try to do that, but I can't write battle scenes^^;; Please review. If I get enough good reviews, I'll write another chapter! *crickets* Umm.. Ahem, *cough* Any way, I'm working on another fanfic right now, but it doesn't have a title yet. And before I write it, none of my stories have anything to do with each other. So if you see Mitsu in one of my stories, don't call me stupid! Lol. Well, thanks for reading! ~Fala


	5. Vote

Ok, since I have serious writer's block, I'll let you guys vote for what should come in the next chapter! Yes, Sesshomaru will defiantly come because he's gonna be important to the story. Yep. Here are the choices:

1. Ara goes to find Sesshomaru and ask him to bring Mitsu back with Tenseiga.

2. Sesshomaru shows up and says that he owes the Inu gang something because they killed Naraku.

3. Shippou and Ara get lost in the forest and can't find their way back.

4. Some big, ugly demon shows up and kills everyone! ((ok, don't vote for this, I'm just in a weird mood o__o; ))

Ok, now just vote by reviewing or sending an email to me ((its in my look-up thingy)). If you want, you could also AIM me. Once I get at least a few votes, I will continue ALT. For now, just be amused by the fact that the initials for my story make ALT. Thanx, bye for now!

O, and thank you for the reviews…

animefreak808: Yay! I'm so glad you like the story^^ *big stupid smile*

Taijiya-san-Sango: Yes, I'll try to *tries to blow up writers block, but fails and sets herself on fire* x__x;

thetyper13: Woohoo! I'm so happy someone liked my story enough to favorite it^__^


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